A recent letter seen by CNBC says that nearly 90 business leaders, including Chris Larsen, co-founder of Ripple, have backed Kamala Harris for president.
The people who signed, which includes Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman and Snap chairman Michael Lynton, say that choosing Harris is important for keeping the U.S. economy and democracy healthy, secure, and stable.
This support comes at a time when Harris’s campaign is accepting donations in cryptocurrency through Coinbase’s Commerce platform. Alesia Haas, Coinbase’s CFO, confirmed the integration at the Citi 2024 Global TMT Conference. She said that Harris’s official super PAC, Future Forward, is now taking crypto donations.
Crypto Industry Embraces Harris
The backing from well-known crypto players shows that politics have changed. While the Biden administration has been careful with cryptocurrencies, the fact that leaders in the field have backed Harris may mean that the Democratic Party will change its mind about digital assets.
An advocacy group called Crypto4Harris said that even though Harris’s official fundraising site still refuses to accept crypto payments directly, this latest change shows that the candidate is becoming more open to the space of digital assets.
A major blockchain trade group called the Digital Chamber has also asked Harris to take a more open-minded view on blockchain technology. This is one more call for policy changes in the sector.
As the election for 2024 approaches, the crypto industry’s support for Harris could mean that regulators will change how they think about things, possibly moving away from the cautious policies of the current government.
